When all the smoke clears . . .

January 26, 2013

Let's see, some members of the state Legislature have introduced legislation to legalize marijuana in Hawaii.

According to The Associated Press, new Speaker Joe Souki is among 11 representatives in the House co-sponsoring a bill to allow possession of up to an ounce of weed by folks 21 or older. Nine members of the state Senate are backing a similar bill in that body.

House Majority Leader Scott Saiki is another one of the proponents, although he admits there may not be enough votes to pass a measure this year.

"I'm not holding my breath on whether this will pass or not," he said. Indeed, legislative action is not usually the primary reason for holding one's breath when dealing with marijuana.

It is interesting that as Hawaii considers joining Colorado and Washington state in legalizing pot, the son of a liberal icon is leading a crusade to halt such movements. Former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy (son of Teddy) is heading up a group called SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana).

"Marijuana destroys the brain and expedites psychosis," he told The Washington Post. "It's just overall a very dangerous drug." He also added that, "In terms of neurobiology, there's no distinction between the quality and types of drugs that people get addicted to. That's why they call it a gateway drug. Addiction is addiction is addiction."

Kennedy had his own issues with alcohol and prescription drugs. He doesn't favor jailing casual users but would like to see more money spent on usage prevention -- and legalization sends just the opposite message.

Perhaps marijuana is not any more dangerous or addictive than tobacco or alcohol. But we sure know what a boon usage of those two drugs has been to society.

If two wrongs don't make a right, is there any reason to think that three wrongs will?